Thorn in my Side
by littlebirdy123
Summary: Being so far away from home Rose knew her family were dead. With the world ending she has learned to live in her surroundings with her aunt, uncle and friends. However, her and her new family remain oblivious to the dangers of this new world and forget that the dead are rising and eating the living. But when new people move into her back garden she realises the world has changed...
1. The Beginning

_**The Walking Dead is owned by Robert Kirkman and co. It is distributed by AMC and belongs to them all. I only own my own character Rose Leon and my own storylines/plot twists throughout this story.**_

* * *

"This is so unfair", giggled a blonde girl while she watched her friends lying on the grass soaking up the sun.

The blonde girl sat on the porch of a pristine white house watching the other two chuckle in mirth at the misfortune of her. It was not her fault that her skin was pale white, so pale that it seemed to glow in the dark. The girl blamed her milk skin on her heritage; she gained this from her father whilst gaining her mother's blonde hair and blue eyes. She grinned at the two girls lying on the green grass in front of her, in shorts and strap tops; she had known these two forever, since she was just a little babe. Ever since she was born she had travelled to a small farm in Georgia where these two resided. But being twenty-five now she no longer travelled to this farm with her mother and father, but journeyed alone.

"Rose," a thick accent cantered towards the girl on the porch. "How long do you think you're gonna' stay here?" The accent belonged to the elder of the two girls lying on the lush meadow. Her name was Maggie; she had short brown hair, sun-kissed skin and warm green eyes.

"It depends how long the airports remain closed," replied an equally thick accent, but not of the same origin. This accent belonged to the eldest girl out of the three of them. Her accent was distinctly different from the other two since she came from the other side of the world in Britain.

"I wish you could stay forever," a timid accent chipped in. The last girl was the youngest out of the three. She too had blonde hair and blue eyes, but whereas Rose's eyes were mature and wise, the youngest girls' eyes were young and full of youth. These eyes belonged to the final girl Beth who was only sixteen.

Rose stared at the two girls and laughed. This was one of the things she looked forward to every year when she was on summer holidays in England. She would travel to Georgia where her aunt and uncle lived and stay with them until it was time for her to return to England to work in the secondary school she has worked at for the past two years. Over the years she came over to Georgia she grew closer and closer to the Greene family and every time she left to go back to England a little piece of her was always tempted to stay forever and just live on the farm; find a nice man to marry with a farm nearby and live with him, visit the Greene's every day and return home to her warm, loving husband. Well, she can dream.

"Who needs a job?" Rose laughed at Beth and Maggie. "Do you think your dad will be able to handle us all under one roof?" Rose asked Maggie and Beth. They both giggled and shook their heads knowing the mischief they all got up to, especially with Shawn in the mix.

"I'm sure Patricia and Otis would love you to stay here," Beth insisted causing Rose to bite her lip hard trying not to burst out laughing. As much as Aunt Patricia and Uncle Otis loved having Rose in their house she was a little devil in disguise, always cheerful and oblivious to everything around her, but so mischievous that she gave the devil a run for his money.

"I'm pretty sure Uncle Otis would lose all his hair if I stayed in the house," Rose remarked sarcastically. Maggie snorted a laugh before putting her sunglasses back on and lying in the sun.

Rose looked over to the horizon and sighed in content. She wished things could stay this peaceful forever, never return to her job or England. Sure she would miss her mother and father, but they could return to her mother's native country. Her mother, Polly, was the older sister of Patricia. She met her husband some years ago and it was love at first sight. After two weeks of knowing each other Polly packed up her bags and moved to England with Roger and never looked back. Sure she visited once a year, but Rose knew there was some longing to return to the Georgian country side.

She was broken out of her thoughts as the 1996 Mercury Sable came driving down to the Greene house, a cloud of dust swirling around the car. Rose grinned knowing it was Shawn and Annette returning from shopping. However, her grin halted and turned into a look of shock as Shawn tumbled out of the car screaming for help. His neck and arm coated in a sticky red substance. His shrieks were spine-tingling. Shawn ran around to the other side of the car and dragged Annette out who looked worse. Half of her face was coated pure red, her skin flaked and peeling away from her face. Shawn dragged her out from under her arms and called for Hershel and everyone to help.

"What happened?" Hershel yelled as he came running out of the house, his pale skin going a sickly green colour.

"I-I don-don't know," Shawn stuttered as he struggled carrying his mother towards Hershel. "We-we were sh-sh-shopping and someone gr-grabbed her and just bit her," Shawn cried. Hershel grabbed Annette's legs and carefully carried her inside the house.

Rose saw Beth and Maggie looking completely broken at the sight of their mother and step-mother. She quickly grabbed Beth into a bone-crushing hug and whispered calming words into the young girl's ears as she took her inside to the living room. She gently placed Beth on the sofa and Maggie followed, mumbling something about making tea.

Beth placed her head in Rose's lap trying to muffle her crying into Rose's legs while Rose ran her long fingers through Beth's hair. Maggie came back into the living room handing everyone a tea and sat down forcefully on the armchair in silence, staring blank at nothing. The awkward silence was suffocating Rose as she looked around at all of the Greene's. Hershel then came stumbling down the stairs wiping his bloody hands on a handkerchief. No one asked questions as he just grabbed the television remote switching it on to the news. Beth's crying decreased as she sat up looking at the news.

 _"Breaking news, a new kind of disease has emerged in different parts of the world causing individuals to attack other people in a violent manner often trying to bite or scratch their victims. Those bitten often contact the disease and have symptoms such as fever, nausea, hallucinations and feeling fatigued. We caution everyone to isolate those with the sickness and wait for a vaccine to come as soon as possible."_

Hershel quickly turned the television off and slammed the remote onto the table. He smiled at the girls trying to reassure them that everything was going to be alright.

"Have you called the doctor's Hershel?" Rose croaked. Hershel nodded his head.

"No response from the doctor," Hershel said sadly. "And emergency services are not answering either," he muttered, his head hanging down. "We have to wait until the cure comes about." Rose nodded her head understanding.

"Can I call Aunt Patricia and Uncle Otis and ask them to come over?" Rose asked timidly. "I'll just feel more comfortable with all of us under one roof." Hershel nodded in sympathy, understanding why Rose was so worried. Hershel then motioned Maggie and Beth to follow him and gave a small smile to Rose, thanking her for looking after Maggie and Beth in his absence.

A few moments after Maggie and Beth left Shawn came downstairs and sat next to Rose on the sofa. His skin was slick with sweat and his breathing was rapid. His skin was ghostly pale, even more so than Rose's. He was coughing every so often but otherwise Rose thought he looked relatively the same apart from the large white bandage around his forearm. His brown hair was under his favourite red hat and it was sticking out in every direction. His blue eyes sparkled with mischief and his crooked teeth still brought a bright smile to Rose's face. Shawn gingerly took Rose's delicate hands with his warm hands and began rubbing his thumb in smooth circles onto her hand. She blushed under his intense stare.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked talking into her lap scared to look at Shawn. He squeezed her hand gently.

"I'm fine Rosie," Shawn said softly. "Rosie, look at me." Rose shifted her eyes towards Shawn's intense orbs and smiled at him. Her heart began to bang against her rib cage, pumping at a hundred miles per hour. "Rose, I'm fine," he said, his eyes drifting towards her lips.

Rose bit her lip and knew what was about to happen. Shawn gingerly placed his cold chapped lips against Rose's plump pink lips. The kiss was sweet and innocent until Rose bravely traced her tongue across his bottom lip, begging for entrance. Shawn immediately allowed her entry. Rose's skin was on fire with passion. She and Shawn were just perfect for one another, despite him being the same age as Maggie; Maggie often called her 'Mrs Robinson'.

The relationship between Shawn and Rose has always been complicated. He had a crush on her since he was fourteen but she did not reciprocate that crush until he was eighteen and she twenty-one. Since then the two of them have had an on-off relationship, strained when she moved back to England but reigniting every time she came back to Georgia. They were each other's first everything and Rose knew every time she saw him she fell deeper and deeper in love with him.

Rose was the first to break away, trying to catch her breath. Shawn smiled sheepishly at Rose before pressing a kiss against her nose and cuddling deeper into her. Rose thought she was in bliss; Shawn would get a cure and everything would go back to normal. Or so she thought, until she heard an agonising scream of despair from Maggie and Beth causing Shawn and Rose to break apart and run upstairs to comfort their family.

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 **WRITTEN:** _27th, June 2016_

 _ **Sorry this is extremely short, but I just wanted to show Rose's backstory and her relationships with the Greene family! Thank you for reading!**_

 _ **Oh I also have this story on Wattpad and The Walking Dead Fanfiction website**_ ** _:)_**

 _ **Littlebirdy123**_


	2. Loss of a Child

_**The Walking Dead is owned by Robert Kirkman and co. It is distributed by AMC and belongs to them all. I only own my own character Rose Leon and my own storylines/plot twists throughout this story.**_

* * *

 _2 months later._

Rose was jolted awake once again; the sixth time this week. It was another nightmare that constantly plagued her mind after Annette and Shawn. Most nights she found herself like a child crawling into someone else's bed for comfort. That person was often Maggie who helped her go back to sleep by singing songs to her like a mother would a babe. Rose was traumatised after Shawn and Annette's sickness; loosing someone so close to her had taken its toll and there was also the passing of her family back in England. Each loss chipped away at Rose's joy and each time her mood would dampen. Having nightmares did not help either; most nights she was forced to endure the evening she lost Shawn and Annette.

 _It had been hours since Annette had changed. Otis, at the command of Hershel, had put her in the barn. He still believed that she would be cured, the government would come and cure Annette and Shawn and they would continue where they left off. He drilled this belief in the minds of everyone around him, especially Rose. She was mute since Shawn's sickness increased and his consciousness decreased. He was slowly changing into a frail individual. His eyes were clouded over and were slowly turning a milky colour, his skin had a grey tinge to it and it felt like porcelain, and his lips were stained with the ruby colour of his blood. Each time he coughed blood joined the cough like an old friend staining the white bedsheets with horror. But Rose did not leave his side once. She held his good hand stroking her smooth fingers over his sweaty skin whispering words of comfort to the young man._

 _Shawn coughed awake, his breathing slowed and wavering. His clouded eyes darted all around the room. He tried to remember where he was but one look at Rose he knew. He was dying. It took all his strength to give Rose a half smile, but still it looked like a grimace. With his last strength he grabbed Rose's hand and gave it a gentle kiss, staining it crimson. She gave a shaky smile as tears ran down her face._

" _R-Rose," Shawn croaked, his hands starting to shake._

" _Don't," Rose whispered to Shawn, wanting him to keep his strength._

" _I-I just n-n-never got t-to say h-h-how gra-grateful I am," he began; using his last strength to talk to the woman he loved since the age of fourteen. "I-I ju-just wanted you to kn-know th-that I lo-love you. Never forget th-that. B-be happy…" with that his breath disappeared into the distance as his body became limp, the last bit of life slipping away from him._

 _Rose sat there in shock. She never got to say it back to him; the man she truly loved was gone, taken in the cruellest way possible. Her crying increased as did her breathing until she could not form words. Luckily Maggie was standing outside at that moment. She ran in see Shawn's lifeless body and Rose huddled over his frail frame trying to catch her breath back. Maggie just took her in her arms and stroked her hair, while Hershel and Otis came to take the body and place it in the barn._

Maggie saw Rose contort in her sleep, sweat pooling at her forehead as she whimpered. She knew it was another nightmare. Thankfully it was morning and everyone would be up. She walked over to Rose who was sleeping on the rocking chair. Gingerly she shook Rose awake causing her to leap from the chair. Her lungs were closed as she tried to catch the oxygen in the air. Her once fiery blue eyes were wide with shock and were extremely dull. Rose turned her head to look at Maggie who was rubbing her shoulder in comfort.

"Hey, hey, look at me," Maggie's accent brought Rose out of nightmare. "It's alright. Let's go downstairs and get some food," Maggie suggested.

"I just want a shower first and get changed," Rose's voice dull and void of emotion. Maggie nodded her head and left Rose to get ready whilst she went to eat.

Rose watched as Maggie left and she slowly walked to her room to shower. The room she stayed in was actually Shawn's room, which added to her grief. Maggie often offered to swap rooms with her, but Rose denied knowing that if either one of them stayed in his room they would get no sleep so Rose decided to take the latter, letting Maggie rest easy. The room looked the same as it always did; posters of superheroes were plastered all over the room and a list of things to do. A dartboard was hung up against the door; holes surrounded the door where darts penetrated it. Across from the dartboard was a desk and pin board. On the desk were pictures of Beth, Maggie, Annette and Hershel. But on picture that stood out the most for Rose was the picture inside a carved wooden frame. There was a picture of Rose and Shawn laughing at the camera, Shawn's arm around Rose's waist and Rose leaning against his shoulder, her head barely reaching there. Rose chocked a sob at the memory and forcefully placed the picture frame back on the desk before running to the shower.

The shower ran ice cold after half an hour and she quickly got out, changing into one of Shawn's old shirts and a pair of denim shorts with her worn and torn black converse. She tied her long blonde hair into a bun and went into the kitchen. Sitting in there was her whole family. They looked at her and smiled in sympathy noticing she was wearing one of Shawn's old black t-shirts. She mumbled a 'good morning' to everyone before grabbing an apple and a bottle of water before walking to the porch and sitting on the swing seat and grabbing her book, like she did every day for the last two months. Sure she helped out around the farm, often assisting Patricia with food preparation or cleaning down the horses, but she mainly stayed in the same spot reading a different book every week. This week it was 'The Little Prince'. She escaped the real world by reading these books.

"Hey," a soft voiced broke her concentration. She looked up and saw her Uncle Otis. "I'm heading out to hunt." Rose nodded.

"Make sure you're safe," Rose lectured playfully. Otis laughed at his niece's lecture; it was the same every time he went out hunting.

"I always do missy," Otis chuckled. "I'll make sure to bring back a deer, cook us up some nice venison." Rose wrinkled her nose at that gesture. She hasn't eaten meat since she was nine years old; sixteen years later she still didn't eat meat so she couldn't imagine eating it now. Otis laughed at the look of disgust on her face and quickly kissed her forehead promising to be back by sunset.

Patricia came out onto the porch watching her husband leave once again. Otis often went hunting every other day and came home with rabbits and deer. Of course Rose didn't go near it and stuck with eating her canned beans and fresh grown vegetables with eggs. She basically had the same meal every day. Rose noticed the fresh line of tears on Patricia's face and she awkwardly got up and hugged her aunt.

"He always comes back," Rose mumbled before pressing a kiss against Patricia's cheek.

"I know," Patricia sniffed. "But it doesn't stop me from worrying."

Patricia then told Rose to go with Maggie to clean out the horses. It was actually one of the jobs she enjoyed doing on this farm. She had a special relationship with Nervous Nellie, considering she was the first person to ride her since she was born. She bucked everyone apart from Rose and occasionally Maggie. During the cleaning of the horses it felt normal; there was a lot of conversation surprisingly. Maggie noticed that Rose's depression has slightly decreased and she was back to her old joking ways with everyone around her. But she knew when Rose was by herself she often fell back into her depression.

After cleaning out the horses they spent the rest of their day sitting on the porch with Jimmy and Beth playing cards. Rose liked hanging out with these two because of their naïve hope. Sure they were a constant reminder of her and Shawn when she was younger it was still nice to listen to their optimism. Two hours later they played at least fourteen rounds of cards. This was when Otis came walking up to the white house with a solemn look on his face. He smiled gently at his niece and petted her hair.

"Did you catch anything?" Rose asked with a smile on her face. Otis smiled in return at the look on Rose's face. It was very rare that a smile was on Rose's face, but when it was there it was it was a beautiful sight. It lit up a room her showing off her pearly white teeth.

"Nope," Otis said. "But I have tracked one, hopefully I'll be able to catch one tomorrow."

"Poor bambi," Maggie pouted before being shoved by Rose playfully. They often joked about Rose being a vegetarian and named every animal they caught after characters that Rose loved as a child.

"Ha-ha hilarious," Rose said sarcastically. "Otis, why don't you go inside and I'll fix you something to eat." Otis nodded thankfully and went inside to find his wife while Rose went into the kitchen.

She went into the kitchen and went ahead to make a sandwich. She completely avoided the meat since she didn't like touching it. When she was cooking in the kitchen she often asked Patricia to deal with the meat, but since she was alone she decided Otis would have to deal with a cheese salad sandwich. Whilst making the sandwich she hummed a little tune that reminded her of the times Annette and Josephine would sing to her. Rose smiled sadly thinking about Maggie's mother. She remembered her clearly since her own mother, Polly, was best friends with Josephine when they grew up. It mirrored Maggie's and Rose's friendship. Her thoughts were interrupted again by Hershel walking into the kitchen with a weary look on his face. Rose knew he had a hard day at work. She motioned towards the food she was making, asking if Hershel wanted something.

"Please," Hershel nodded. She quickly placed a sandwich in front of Hershel and went to give Otis one before returning to the kitchen to sit with Hershel.

"You know, if you want extra help around the farm you can ask Hershel, I don't mind," Rose said, her blue eyes looking at Hershel with sympathy.

"Oh Rose, you kind girl," Hershel smiled. "After everything are you sure you want to be helping, I know Shawn becoming sick was a big shock for you." Rose cringed at the mention of Shawn. "Help would be nice, thank you." Rose smiled at Hershel. She knew a bit about helping around the farm. According to Patricia and her mother when she was younger she would follow Hershel around like a lost puppy trying to learn as much as possible with animals. Hershel taught her how to stitch animals up when injured, medicine that would help them and in general how to take care of them.

"Thank you Hershel," Rose nodded smiling at the old man.

Hershel stood up and placed a gentle kiss on Rose's forehead and placed his plate into the sink to be cleaned later.

* * *

The next day Rose found herself at the barn. In the beginning when Shawn was sick she would often visit the barn to watch him roam around. She knew he was different, but she was convinced he was just sick. Hershel had said they are waiting for a cure and she believed him. The people around her were reaching out towards her trying to grab her. But they were sick that's all. A schizophrenic would hurt a person and they were sick. That was the same with these people, or Hershel said so at least. Rose knew that there was still hope and she hoped there would be some left for Shawn and Annette.

"I miss you Shawn," Rose whispered as she played with the hay around her. She let the tears fall from her eyes as she watched Shawn trying to grab her like she was the last thing on this earth. She looked around to the others all different ages and sizes, but they were just people. Her tears halted as she heard a gunshot echo in the distance.

She quickly closed up the barn and began walking back to the house. She was careful avoiding the barbed wire around the farm, but she eventually made it back to the farm, her dark grey cardigan clinging to her sweaty skin. She saw Maggie on the porch with binoculars with a look of worry on her face. Rose knew Otis went hunting early this morning trying to track the buck that he found yesterday. The shot either meant he found the buck or something dangerous had happened. Rose sat down on the swing seat and bit her nails nervously as Maggie looked out in the distance.

"He'll come back," Rose muttered. "He always does."

"Where were you today?" Maggie asked already knowing the answer. She told Rose time and time again to stop going to the barn, but she never did. She stopped going every day and only went once or twice a week at most. Today happened to be that day. "Rose, the longer you keep going to that barn the more likely your hope will decrease. You've seen how they act in there, just give it time," Maggie said looking at Rose in sympathy.

"I know Maggie, I just can't leave him in there," Rose muttered.

"Rose," Maggie muttered crouching down to look at Rose eyelevel. "Shawn wanted you go and enjoy your life, not dwell on him if he is never cured." Rose shook her head. She was about to respond when she noticed something in the distance. Maggie looked also and placed the binoculars on her eyes seeing a man and small boy in his arms, blood covering both the boy and the man. "DAD!" Maggie yelled to Hershel.

Rose and Maggie quickly stood up and walked close to the porch as the two humans came closer and becoming clearer. Hershel came running out of the house with Patricia, Beth and Jimmy. Jimmy was hugging Beth in comfort, obviously trying to hide what everyone was seeing. A boy, probably twelve, had blood pouring out of his abdomen.

"Was he bit?" Hershel asked eyeing the motionless boy.

"Shot by your man," the man responded breathing heavily his face pasty and white.

"Otis?" Patricia questioned, clearly shocked at the revelation.

"Please help him, please, please…" The man babbled as Hershel guided them into the house to the spare room downstairs. Hershel went straight into action, ordering everyone around. He knew he had to save this boy's life.

"Patricia, I need my full kit," he said. "Maggie, grab painkillers, coagulates. Just grab everything. Grab clean towels, sheets and alcohol," he continued to order. "Bring him in here." The man set the boy on the bed gently, his blue eyes filled with tears.

"Is he alive?" He mumbled. He was clearly in shock.

"Rose," Hershel said harshly. "Take Beth and Jimmy upstairs and tell them to stay up there."

Rose nodded and grabbed the young couple taking them into Beth's room. The room had the same layout as Shawn's room, but it was distinctly more girly. The walls were pink and the bed was queen-sized with cream quilt covers. All around the room was posters of musicians and boybands with pictures of horses and rabbits everywhere. There was a large wardrobe with pictures decorating it; pictures of the Greene family and the occasional one of Rose in it. Beth and Jimmy began asking Rose questions over and over again, asking the boy's name, why they were up here. Rose explained as best as she could, Hershel wanted them to stay away from death as much as possible especially since Jimmy and Beth were so young. Beth was there when her mother and brother died, while Jimmy was running for three days straight until he reached the Greene house; he witnessed his whole family be torn apart by the sick.

"You two," Rose said. "Please stay up here." Rose began to leave the room before poking her head around the door and playfully pointed at the two on them. "And no funny business up here, I'll know if you mess about," she playfully winked at the pair causing them both to blush.

Rose ran back downstairs into 'the room of horror' (as she named it). Otis had finally arrived with another man. This man was so tall. He stood at least six foot two with broad shoulders and dark curly hair with equally dark eyes. He must've been mid-thirties, maybe older. The man who carried the child was slumped on a chair, a needle sticking out of his arm as thick blood came travelled into the blood bag. He was giving blood to his son. The child was a pale white colour, paler than Rose. His abdomen was swollen and painted black and blue. His eyes were shut and his breathing was laboured. Maggie whispered the name of the man into Rose's ear so she wouldn't be confused.

"Lori," Rick mumbled. He wiped some sweat away from his forehead. "My wife," his voice was just a whisper. "She needs to be here."

"Maybe I could…" Maggie began to say before Hershel's look cut her off. "Daddy, his mother needs to be here," Maggie said. Hershel began shaking his head.

"It's too dangerous Maggie," Hershel said only to be cut off by Rose.

"Hershel, how would you feel if Maggie or Beth was shot and you have no idea that your child was dying until it was too late," Rose whispered making sure Rick didn't hear her over his crying. Hershel sighed, knowing Rose was right.

"Take a horse and be quick," Hershel ordered. "Please be quick." Maggie nodded and quickly kissed his cheek before running off. Rose yelled a goodbye to her as she saw Maggie run off to the stables. She saw a baseball bat in Maggie's hand and laughed knowing if Shawn saw Maggie with his bat he would be extremely mad. Rose looked at Hershel and he motioned her to follow him outside.

"What's wrong Hershel?" Rose asked.

"The boy isn't likely to survive." Hershel said sadly. "There are at least five fragments inside of him, his belly is swollen which means there is internal bleeding. We need to put him under to operate, so he cannot move."

"You need a respirator", said Rose in realisation. "You probably need other bits and pieces as well. Am I right?" Hershel nodded in confirmation.

"I know where you could get them," Otis said, making himself know. He obviously heard the conversation. The other man Shane followed along with a weary Rick. "The high school. It has a FEMA shelter"

"That's what I was thinking," Hershel nodded in agreement.

"No Uncle Otis," Rose shook her head in disagreement. "You told me it was overrun last time you went to look."

"Maybe it has cleared now," Otis suggested. Rose shook her head in stubbornness.

"Leave the rest to me," Shane mumbled. Rose had to admire him for his bravery, but even she knew it was a suicide mission. "Just draw me up a list of everything you need and a map."

"You won't need a map," Otis said stubbornly.

"No Uncle Otis! You aren't going," Rose insisted. Patricia agreed thoroughly with Rose not wanting her husband to go on this suicide mission.

"Girls," Otis said stubbornly. "We don't have time for guesswork and I'm responsible. I ain't gonna sit here while this fella takes this on alone." Rose trembled and continuously shook her head at Otis' want to help. It was all an accident; he didn't owe these people anything.

"I'll be alright," Shane said. He didn't want Otis slowing him down. Otis just gave Shane a look; he was coming whether he liked it or not. "Are you sure about this?" Shane asked again.

"Do you even know what any of the stuff he's talking about looks like?" Otis asked smugly.

"Come to think, no," Shane muttered running his fingers through his dark curly hair.

"I've been a volunteer at EMT. Now, we can talk about this 'till next Sunday, or we could just go do it real quick," Otis insisted. Rose rolled her eyes at her uncle's stubbornness.

"I'll take real quick," Shane agreed. To be honest two heads and two guns were better than one.

"I should thank you," Rick said his voice clearly grateful.

"Wait 'till that boy of yours is up and around, then we'll talk," Otis said. Otis then looked at his niece who was clearly trying to stop the tears from leaking out of her eyes. Otis shook his head at her silliness; he knew he would come back. He hugged her and kissed her head. "I'll be back real soon buttercup. Go keep that boy company, I'll back soon," he nudged Rose towards Carl's room.

"You better come back safe," Rose pointed at Otis playfully. He mockingly saluted Rose. She then turned to Shane. "Come back safe as well," Rose asked Shane. Despite not knowing this man she knew that they needed both of them back in order to save the boy.

Doing what Otis ordered Rose walked into the boy's room. She still did not know his name. She just referred to him as the boy. But he laid there in the bed, his small body barely taking up the space. He looked so small, like a tiny china doll and broken. Despite not knowing the boy she felt the pain the boys' father felt; it was how she felt when she was losing Shawn. Rose smiled softly at the thought of Shawn alive, laughing at all the pranks they pulled on one another and the love they shared. She knew Rick was probably thinking the same thing about Carl, all the good times they had.

"This is weirder for me than it is for you," Rose muttered to the frail boy. "I've never met you but here I am holding your hand talking to you like I've known you for years." Rose smiled at herself hoping the boy could hear her. "I hope you can hear this, your dad would be thrilled if you did. He misses you a lot," Rose smiled at the young child, rubbing smooth circles onto his palm. "Your daddy's tough, I bet you are too."

Suddenly a young woman came running into the room, shock expressed in her warm brown eyes. She placed her palm over her mouth as her husband Rick consoled her, whispering words of love into her ear. Rose immediately moved out of the way to allow the woman to hug her child, protect her child. She smiled sadly at the reunion of the mother and son and wanted to give the family some privacy. Rose gently squeezed Rick's shoulder before walking out of the room and seeing Hershel and Patricia sitting there.

"How is the boy?" Hershel asked. Rose shook her head. The boy most definitely needed another transfusion. She damned her AB+ blood wishing she could give some to the young child. Hershel walked into the room disrupting the young family reunion saying the boy needed another transfusion. Rick gave one without even questioning the thought it would have on his body.

"Miss," Rose asked the woman. "Would you like something to eat?" The woman looked at her son in worry. "Don't worry; your son is in trustful hands. Eating may make you feel better." She looked at her husband before he nodded, telling her to get something. They made their way into the kitchen and Rose sat the mother down in a seat. Rose moved into the kitchen and started making some food for both Rick and the woman. She didn't bother asking what they wanted and she was sure they wouldn't care either.

"Thank you," the woman mumbled. "Thank you for looking after Carl," she sniffled. So his name was Carl… She figured he would be a George or an Alex, but Carl suited him well.

"It is no problem miss," Rose smiled before laying a sandwich before her.

"Please, it's Lori," Lori gave a weak smile at the polite young woman. "What's your name?"

"Rose." Lori gave a small smile. "Yes I know," Rose giggled herself. "An English Rose, how original." Lori's smile increased bigger.

"Your family are very kind," Lori mumbled. Rose shrugged knowing it was true. "What brought you to Georgia then?" Lori asked, trying to distract herself from the thought of Carl dying.

"I was visiting my uncle and my aunt; been doing so ever since I was born," Rose smiled proudly, her accent thick and different. Lori smiled a little more.

But her smile diminished when Rick came stumbling out of 'the horror room', his face sickly and his eyes sunken into his skull. Hershel helped him and ordered Rose to get an orange juice and some food. Rose came back into the kitchen seeing Lori speaking to Hershel, her plate still holding half a sandwich.

"Okay, so I understand when Shane gets back with this other man," Lori began talking.

"Otis," Hershel interjected.

"Otis," Lori mumbled. "The idiot who shot my son." Rose sucked in a breath at Lori's comment.

"Lori," Rose interrupted. "It was an accident. Please accept that he is trying to make amends." Lori nodded her head, but was still stubborn enough to blame this accident on Otis.

"I'll take that under advisement later. For now, he's the idiot who shot our son," Lori mumbled to Rick. Rose shook her head a little at Lori's attitude, but understood where she was coming from. If her child was ever injured by another she would be quick to blame them as well.

"Lori," Rick mumbled trying to console his wife. "They're doing everything they can to make it right."

"I'm sorry," Lori mumbled to Rose. "But as soon as they get back you can perform this surgery?" Lori asked desperately.

"I'll certainly do my best," Hershel promised.

"But you have done this procedure before?" Lori asked.

"Well, yes, in a sense," Hershel responded.

"In a sense?" Lori asked worriedly. She looked back and forth between Rick and Hershel in confusion.

"Honey, we don't have the luxury of shopping for a surgeon," Rick tried to explain.

"No, I understand that. But I mean, you're a doctor, right?" Lori asked.

"Of course," Hershel mumbled. "A vet."

"A veteran," Lori sounded surprised. Hershel just shook his head explaining he was a veterinarian. "So you've done this surgery on what? Cows? Pigs?"

Rick slowly began to lose his balance. Rose immediately jumped into action and caught Rick before he could fall to the floor. She knocked over the glass of orange juice and pulled him into the chair, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. His sweaty forehead and cold skin contrasted against Rose's warm hands.

"You're completely in over your head, aren't you?" Lori asked almost bitterly.

"Ma'am, aren't we all?" Hershel asked.

Hershel went into the kitchen to grab another glass of orange juice for Rick while Rose went in to check on Carl and his bandages. He looked worse than he did before. His abdomen was extremely swollen and red veins began sprouting out from underneath the bandage on his stomach. Rose lifted the bandage to see the damage and covered her mouth in shock. If the two men didn't hurry back quick Carl would most certainly die. Hershel came in soon after with Lori and Rick, both looking even more distraught at the thought of their son being operated on by not only a stranger but a vet instead of a real doctor. But this was the world now and they had to take what was given to them. Rose also noticed the hostile look in Lori's eyes.

"Hershel," Rose began. "Maybe I should go look for Uncle Otis and Shane." Immediately that idea was shot down. Hershel explained that he may need Rose for the surgery. Rose knew that was false, she was basic at stitching and she knew Patricia would help, but Rose obeyed Hershel anyway. She had no skills with guns or knives and would be a liability.

Rose went out into the kitchen and saw that the sandwich she made for Rick wasn't even touched. What was it with people and rejecting free food? She rolled her eyes and walked into the room and forcefully placed the food next to Rick gesturing to the sandwich to eat. Rick looked away and stared at Carl some more while Lori held his hand.

"Rick please," Lori begged. "You have to keep your strength up." Rick just ignored Lori as his eyes phased out.

"Lori, did you, I mean, it was legendary," Rick began, not noticing he was babbling. "Did you ever hear about the time Shane stole Kingsley's car?" Rick asked.

"Yeah," Lori smiled at the memory. Rose shook her head at Rick wanting him to continue on with the story.

"The Principal's car was right out of the teacher's lot in the middle of a school day. Shane steps out of lunch and makes a beeline to Kingsley's Hyundai. He wires the ignition, peels out and drives down Dylan Drive to that chicken far out there," Rick smiled at the memory and kept asking if Lori remembered. He was obviously delusional due to the lack of blood that was running inside his body. "Shane, he pulls the car into one of the big holding pens. The principal, Kingsley, he waxed that car every month; had the auto shop vacuum it out every week. But Shane, he parks it in this huge pen with a couple of hundred Rhode Island reds. He busts open bags of seed in the back seat, rolls down all the windows and then starts sprinting back to school. Its three miles away easy, but he's back in time to finish his sandwich before the bell. And then the bell rings and Shane gets up and when he runs into Kingsley in the hallway and says 'your coupe's gone'," Rick chuckled. "Like chicken coop," Rick looked towards Rose and saw her smile at the story he told. "But Lori, you're right. Shane's gonna make it back with what the doctor needs."

"Rick, he will make it back," Rose confirmed unfolding her arms and looking at Rick. "But please, you're gonna need to eat some food to keep up your strength." Rick looked at Rose in thanks before placing the sandwich in his mouth and slowly chewing it.

"Rose," Hershel says. "Go outside, you've been inside for most of the day." Rose nods and softly smiles at Lori and Rick before exiting the room.

She walked to the porch and sat down on her swing seat looking out into the distance. Maggie soon joined her and the two sat in peaceful silence, the only sound was the wind echoing in the air. The seat blew softly as the wind did creating a rocking sensation instantly relaxing the two.

"Do you think he's gonna live?" Maggie asks, playing with her nails. Rose just nods, knowing as long as there is hope that Shane and Otis will return then nothing will be truly hopeless. Voices disrupted Maggie and Rose as two men came to the porch, muttering between them. They were obviously part of the bigger group that Rick mentioned early and Maggie saw.

"Did you close the gate when you came in?" Rose asked. The two jumped at the shock of a voice with a different accent. They both looked in the direction of the two girls sitting on the swing. One of the men was a broad dark-skinned man and the other was a small Asian man with a baseball cap.

"Y-yes," the Asian man muttered. "He-hello again. We met briefly before," he stuttered in Maggie's direction, his cheeks turning rosey.

"Look, we came here to help," the large man interrupted saving the man from embarrassment. Rose saw the bandage on his arm and immediately thought the worst. Flashbacks of Shawn came to her mind and she shivered thinking about it. The man obviously saw her shiver. "It's not a bite, but I cut myself pretty bad though."

"We'll have it looked at," Maggie said ushering them inside.

"We have some painkillers," the Asian boy announced handing Maggie the bottle. "I already gave him some, but if Carl needs any," he said.

"Come on inside boys," Rose said. "I'll make you both something to eat."

It seemed all Rose was doing today was making food for everyone. She guessed it was better than sitting around doing nothing; it felt good to mother people once again. Maggie took both of the men to see Carl while Rose went into the kitchen calling for Patricia. She explained that someone needed their arm stitched and asked if she could do it while she made them food. Patricia nodded.

Rose could hear the men being sat at the dining room table while Patricia prepared the needle and thread. She came into the room laying down the sandwiches on the table and gesturing towards the men to take their food. They do so mumbling their thanks through mouthfuls.

"Thank you miss," the bigger man mumbled.

"Please, call me Rose," Rose smiled at the two. They both murmured their names which were T-Dog and Glenn.

After eating Rose and Patricia prepared T-Dog for the stitches in his arm. She knew it would hurt since they did not have any numbing cream or anaesthetic, but T-Dog was determined not to let pain show, at least in the beginning. In the end the feeling of a need tugging at your skin was too much to bare and Patricia motioned to Maggie and Rose to hold the man down. They both did so without question.

"You got here right in time," Patricia muttered as she continued to sew T-Dog's wound shut. "This couldn't go untreated much longer."

"'Merle Dixon'," Rose read off the bottle of doxycycline. "Is that your friend with the antibiotics?" Both T-Dog and Glenn both shook their heads.

"No, ma'am," Rose glared at Glenn as he quickly corrected himself. "I mean Rose. Merle's no longer with us. Daryl gave us those, his brother."

"Not sure I'd call him a friend," T-Dog muttered in pain.

"He is today," Patricia said. "This doxycycline might have just saved your life. You know what Merle was taking it for?"

"The clap," Glenn blurted out causing Rose and Maggie to snort a laugh. Glenn blushed. "Um, venereal disease," he corrected. "That's what Daryl said." He blushed and nodded his head before leaving the room to go outside. Rose gestured to Maggie to follow him; she rolled her eyes, but did what she was told.

"I'd say Merle Dixon's clap was the best thing to ever happen to you," Patricia said sarcastically causing Rose to bark a loud laugh.

"I'm really trying not to think about that," T-dog muttered causing Rose to laugh even more. T-Dog glared at the young girl before she gave him a sheepish smile.

"Well, I think you're all done," Patricia announced. "Rose would you mind bandaging him up." Rose nodded and started doing so while Patricia went to check on Carl with Hershel.

"Thank you for this," T-Dog muttered. Rose gave him a smile. "So, where are you from?"

"England," Rose replied bluntly, trying to concentrate on wrapping up his arm. "But I was visiting my aunt and uncle when the world went to shit." T-Dog snorted a laugh. Hearing the word shit in an English accent was odd; he expected them all to have a stiff upper lip and not having a sense of humour. "What did you do to your arm?" Rose asked.

"I cut it on a car when I was trying to hide from walkers," Rose flinched at the name of walkers. "You don't call them walkers do you?" T-Dog asked. Rose shook her head.

"We call them sick," Rose mumbled and T-Dog didn't question further. He continued to explain that the man Daryl saved his life from being eaten and now he owes him. It sounded like the group had been through a lot as T-Dog explained their camp in Atlanta, but ignored him when it came to information about the CDC. She knew somewhere there was someone working on a cure.

"Thank you Rose," T-Dog nodded gratefully as she finished bandaging the rest of his arm. He then got up and left the table, joining Maggie and Glenn outside.

A car then was heard from outside causing everyone in the house apart from Patricia to go outside. Rose watched the car as only one of its passengers stepped out. Shane shook his head mournfully. Otis didn't make it. Despite all the times he came back he didn't come back this time. Rose chocked on a sob while Maggie looked down in grief. Rose walked up to Maggie quickly grabbing her arm and motioned her inside. She was doing what she does best; taking care of others and pushing aside her grief to look after her friends and family. Rose took Maggie into the kitchen where she sat at the table and mourned silently. But her cries increased when Glenn came into the kitchen.

"I've known Otis since I was a kid," Maggie said her voice thick with tears. Rose sat next to her holding her hand as silent tears leaked from her eyes. "He's run this farm since before my mother died." Rose's grip tightened on Maggie's hand at the mention of Josephine.

"Who else? Who'd you lose?" Glenn asked. Maggie looked at Glenn, shaking more. "You told me I had to make it okay somehow. That's what you've been trying to do right? Which ones?" Shakily Maggie stood up from the chair and went to the fridge pointing towards pictures of Annette and Shawn mumbling the words 'step-mother' and 'step-brother'. Rose bit her lip hard trying to stop the tears coming out of her eyes at the mention of Shawn.

They sat in silence for what it seemed hours. Rose ran around the kitchen trying to clean everything in sight, trying to keep her mind off the death of Otis. She couldn't deal with losing anyone else so she placed her hope in Shawn being cured and coming back. Rick and Lori were pacing in the living room, while T-Dog and Glenn rested. Shane went to clean up after being chased by several walkers. She cursed him asking why he had to live while Otis died, but she knew it was selfish to think like that; her parents brought her up to never think about people like that. Hershel then came walking out of 'the horror room' wiping his hands clean of blood.

"He seems to have stabilised," Hershel announced a look of relief plastered across his face.

"I don't have words," Lori cried, tears of joy in her eyes.

"I don't either," Hershel chuckled to himself. "Now how do I tell Patricia about Otis?" his laugh diminished.

"You go to Carl, I'll go with Hershel," Rick said to Lori who nodded almost immediately and went ran straight towards Carl's room. Hershel told Rose to follow him and Rick to see Patricia.

Rose didn't even hear anything that was said to Patricia she just heard of wail of grief while Hershel and Rick rubbed her shoulder. Rose did what she knew best; be there for people and grieve in her own time. She had to be there for her family; it was the only way she was getting through this and it helped her survive.

* * *

 **WRITTEN:** _28th, June 2016_

 _ **Wow this was a long chapter! I hoped this showed Rose's character in a little more detail and how she is similar to other characters. When she grieves she does so by herself not wanting to burden the others. She is a carer; she gets through this new world by caring for others by feeding them, nurturing them and letting them cry on her shoulder. But as the story develops you'll see she changes!**_

 _ **This story is also posted on Wattpad and The Walking Dead Fanfiction website :)**_

 _ **Littlebirdy123**_


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